Southwest General Receives “Grade A” Hospital Safety Rating

Middleburg Heights, OH (June 7, 2012) – It’s a “Grade A” for Southwest General when it comes to hospital safety. The Leapfrog Group, along with a panel of national hospital safety experts, announced earlier this week its top scoring hospitals in its new initiative, Hospital Safety Score SM report.

The Hospital Safety Score report ranks hospitals on preventable safety issues, such as infections acquired in the hospital, bedsores or medication errors. The report is the first to use a letter grading system to help consumers compare local hospitals’ safety records.

“It’s The Leapfrog Group’s goal to give patients the information they need and deserve before even entering a hospital,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We congratulate the hospitals that earned an ‘A’ and we look forward to the day when all hospitals in the U.S. will earn the highest scores for putting patient safety first.”

The Hospital Safety Score uses national performance measures from The Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to produce a single score representing a hospital’s overall performance in keeping patients safe from preventable harm and medical errors.

Additionally, secondary data from the American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey was used to give hospitals as much credit as possible toward their safety score. The Hospital Safety Score includes 26 measures, all currently in use by national measurement and reporting programs.

“Being recognized as an A-graded hospital for patient safety is a resounding endorsement of the quality work being done here at Southwest General,” said Marilyn McNamara, MD, vice president, Medical Affairs, Southwest General. “We strive every day not only to live out the mission of our hospital but also to continue to provide a safe and healing environment for our patients. I congratulate everyone at Southwest General for helping us to receive this outstanding recognition.”

As patient care can typically start at the Emergency Room (ER) doors, earlier in 2012, Southwest General’s ER was ranked among the top five percent in the nation, according to HealthGrades, a national hospital ratings organization. Southwest General is the only hospital on the West Side of Cleveland to receive the Emergency Medicine Excellence Hospital designation from HealthGrades—the third year in a row Southwest General has earned the award.

For more information—or an interview with a Southwest General executive—on Southwest General’s
A-grade patient safety rating, call Caroline Fienga, media specialist, at 440-816-6723.

About Southwest General
Recognized as one of Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals®, Southwest General is a private, not-for-profit, 358-bed acute care facility located in Middleburg Heights, Ohio. Founded in 1920, Southwest General is home to nationally recognized physicians with full access to state-of-the-art technology. Southwest General has a deep commitment to providing personalized care and building a healthy future for the patients, families and communities it serves. For news highlights, events and additional information, visit www.swgeneral.com or www.facebook.com/SWGeneral.

About The Leapfrog Group
The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) is a national organization using the collective leverage of large purchasers of health care to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality, and affordability of health care for Americans. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey allows purchasers to structure their contracts and purchasing to reward the highest performing hospitals. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and national funders, and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members.